Behaviour Change: Connecting with Others

Positive social interactions and experiences are commonly given as reasons why people get active and stay active.

The more people are connected with others and have shared experiences, the more likely they are to maintain their new habit.

Did you know? Generally, people are attracted to those who have similar attitudes –‘people like me’. This is called similarity attractiveness.

Tips to help people connect with each other: 

1. Plan time for people to talk. Provide a ‘chat topic’ to help people get started
2. Encourage your group to talk to you and each other about their motivations for taking part.
3. Let people choose their own partners when doing group work.
4. Encourage partnering with new people sometimes and move participants out of their comfort zones
5. Listen with the intent to understand, not just so you can reply.
6. Encourage people to continue the conversation online and outside your session.